Wrench.



J. A. DARBY WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22. 1910.

Patented June 6, 1911.

INVENTOR JOHN A. DARBY, OF NEWPORT, INDIANA.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 6, 1911.

Application filed March 22, 1910. Serial No. 550,985.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. DARBY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newport, in the county of Vermilion and State of Indiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wrenches, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention has reference to wrenches and particularly to the typeknown as selfadjusting wrenches. It has for its primary objects; theprovision of a wrench of the character herein specified, wherein thejaws are positively operated either when being closed or being opened;the provision of an improved wrench handle adapted to receive differentkinds of jaws, adapting the wrench for various kinds of work; and ingeneral the provision of an improved self-adjusting wrench which issimple, inexpensive and effective, and readily adaptable to thecharacter of the work to be done. These and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear, or are incidental to my invention, I accomplish bymeans of a construction illustrated in preferred form in theaccompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of my improvedwrench,

Figure 2 is an edge View of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a section taken through Figure 1 on the line III-III,

Figure 4 is a view of the wrench jaws in extreme open position, and

Figure 5 is a similar view to that of Figure 4c with the jaws in closedposition.

My invention in general is designed to provide a self-adjusting wrenchin which the jaws will be positively operated either when being openedor closed. To this end I provide a handle 7 composed of two plates 8 and9 pivoted together at 10 at one end, and having offset portions at theother end to receive the wrench jaws 11. These jaws are pivoted togetherat 12 and are secured or mounted on the handle by means of a pintle orcam piece 13, which is provided with squared ends fitting in similarlyshaped openings formed in the plates 8 and 9. The cam piece 13 ispreferably a single piece structure and has formed thereon twooppositely disposed cams or eccentrics 1 1 and 15 adapted to fit intorunways or races 14 and 15 provided in the jaws 11. These cams are setat substantially 180 from one another, as indicated in the drawing, andwhen the handle 7 is moved upwardly the cams will be turned thereby andwill move in their respective races forcing the jaws apart as indicatedin Fig. 1, which illustrates the jaws in extreme open position. When thehandle is moved in the reverse direction the cams will operate to closethe jaws, as indicated in Fig. 5. It will be thus seen that the jaws areat all times positively operated, thereby assuring effective andconsistent action.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 it will be seen thatthe plates 8 and 9 constituting the handle are secured or lockedtogether adjacent the jaws by means of a hook member 16 pivoted to theplate 9 and adapted to engage recesses 17 formed in the lugs 18 and 19,formed respectively on the plates 8 and 9. These lugs (preferablyintegral with the plates 8 and 9) are adapted to fit into recesses 20and 21 formed in the plates 8 and 9, and are spring held, in suchposition, it being necessary to spring the plates 8 and 9 slightly apartin order to swing or position the plates into proper position withrespect to each other. This spring locking action together with the hook16 looking into the upstanding lugs 18 and 19 forms a very effectivemeans for securing and holding the plates constituting the handle, infixed position.

It will be seen that by this construction I provide a wrench which canbe readily taken apart and as readily re-assembled. If, owing to thecharacter of the work, a different set of jaws should be needed, thehook 16 is swung out of engagement with the lugs 18 and 19 and theplates 8 and 9 sprung apart, when the cam piece 18 and the jaws 11 canbe removed and a new set inserted in place thereof. It is, of course,understood that the cam piece 13 can be used with a number of differentsets of jaws. Should the work be inaccessible for a wrench of thecharacter shown in Fig. 1, the axis of the cam 13 can be turned through90 and the jaws placed thereon. This change provides a wrench of thetype commonly known as the S wrench, the jaws in normal position lyingsubstantially at right angles to the normal position as shown in Fig. 1.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use what I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is the following 1. Aself-adjusting wrench comprising in combination a pair of jaws pivotedtogether,

an operating cam adapted to positively open the jaws when moved in onedirection and;

to positively close the jaws when moved in the opposite direction, and ahandle having a divided end, one part of which engages the camnon-rotatively on one side of the jaws and the other of which engagesthe cam non-rotatively on the other side of the aws.

2. A self-adjusting wrench comprising in combination, a divided wrenchhandle, a pair of jaws pivoted together and lying between the parts ofthe handle, and an operating cam member mounted in the handle andcarrying the jaws, said cam member operating to positively open the jawswhen moved in one direction and to positively close the jaws when movedin the opposite direction.

'3. A self-adjusting wrench comprising in combination, a single handlehaving a divided end, an operating cam member mounted between the partsof the end, a pair of jaws carried by the cam member and pivotedtogether at the rear of the said cam member, said cam member operatingto open the jaws when moved in one direction and to close the jaws whenmoved in the opposite direction.

4. A self-adjusting wrench comprising in combination, a handle, a doublecam positioned against rotation thereon and a pair of jaws each having arace fitting one portion of the double cam and pivoted together at therear of said cam, said double cam operating to open the jaws when thehandle is moved in one direction and to close the jaws when the handleis moved in the opposite direction.

15. In combination in a wrench, a pair of opposing spring handlessecured together at one end and perforated at their other ends, a cammember mounted in the perforations and removable by springing thehandles apart, and a pair of jaws mounted on and operable by the cam andpivoted together to the rear of such cam.

6. In combination in a wrench, a pair of opposing spring handles securedtogether at one end and perforated at their other ends, a cam membermounted in the perforations and removable by springing the handlesapart, means intermediate the ends of the handles for releasably lockingthe handles together and a pair of jaws mounted on and operable by thecam and pivoted together to the rear of such cam.

7 A wrench comprising :in combination a handle comprising opposingplates lying against each other with their front ends spaced apart andsecured together for movement toward and from each other at such frontends, a pair of jaws removably mounted in the front ends of said plates,and means to the rear of the spaced portions of the handles for lockingthe plates together.

8. In combination in a wrench, a handle comprising a pair of opposingplates secured together at one end and movable toward and from eachother at the other end, a pair of relatively movable wrench jaws lyingbetween the movable ends of the plates constituting the handle andreleasable from the plates when they are spread apart, and a latchlocated between the plates for holding them together.

9. A wrench comprising in combination, a pair of jaws pivoted togetherand provided with a pintle, a double operating cam on the pintle,runways in the jaws for said double cam, and a handle comprisingopposing plates releasably secured together for movement toward and fromeach other for detachably holding the ends of the pintle.

10. In combination in a wrench, a handle comprising a pair of opposingplates secured together at one end and movable toward and from eachothera't the other end, a pair of relatively movable wrench jaws lyingbetween the movable ends of the plates constituting the handle, andreleasable from the plates when they .are spread apart, an engagingmember on the inner face of one of the plates, and a latch on the innerface of the opposite plate, the said latch being adapted toengage thesaid member and prevent the two plates from moving away from each other.

11. In combination in a wrench, a handle comprising a pair of opposingspring plates pivoted together at their rear ends on an axis transverseto the plane of the plates, and removable operating means at the frontend of the handle having interlocking engagement therewith so that theplates are held against relative pivotal movement upon the said axis andthe operating means is held in the plates until such plates are sprungapart to release such means, and means for releasably locking the frontends of the plates-againstspringing apart.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence ofthe two subscribed witnesses.

JOHN A. DARBY.

WVitnesses:

- BARTON S. ALKMAN, BERT. G. NICHOLS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for -five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). U.

